Pancetta is cured Italian pork belly. It's the secret ingredient that underlies great sauces and soups, and is the melt-in-your-mouth slice on the platter or inside a panino. Wrapped around vegetables or meats, it will bring your dish to another level. Or dice some pancetta and toss it into the extra virgin olive oil at the beginning of making a tomato sauce. As the sauce cooks down, the Pancetta will dissolve into it, infusing it with that subtle, indefinable quality that we associate with the best Italian cuisine.
Pancetta works miracles in soup, too, especially minestrone.